letter

Every week, my mother sends me a day-by-day account of her and my father�s week. The entries are not so long that they become boring, but also not so short that they become cryptic.

Recently, it�s become apparent to me that my mother�s friend is dying from cancer. It�s also become apparent to me that I most likely will never see my mother�s friend again.

This is of course sad news. Nobody wants to learn that someone they have admired and appreciated is going to die.

On the other hand, there is reason to be happy. I luckily have been informed of the misfortune in time to make the most of the situation.

I recently wrote my mom,�I am wondering if it would be possible for me to write a letter to [your friend] thanking her for the knowlege she's shared and impression she's made on my life without it sounding like �before you die, I just wanted to tell you thanks.��

My mom replied with, �For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: �It might have been!� [John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92)]

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions".

Indications are, you should write the letter. What a nice idea.�

So, with my mother�s blessing I wrote her friend a letter. I thanked her for all the knowledge she�s imparted to me both intentionally and unintentionally. I also told a few related anecdotes.

After several re-reads, I mailed the letter last Thursday. It will be received this Friday.

I�m a little anxious about the letter�s reception. I�ve written a fair number letters in my lifetime, but have never felt this type of anxiety. Yeah, I�ve sent those nail-biting �Do you like me? Check �yes� or �no�� notes in elementary school, but they just don�t compare.

I�m worried that I�ll just make the woman sadder than she may already be.

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new destiny

I�m three days into my new destiny. Everything seems to be going fine.

Surprisingly, I actually cannot distinguish the old destiny from the new destiny at all. Life now is just as life was before visiting the Site of Reversible Destiny.

You know how some people have very strong personalities? Or how there are those things called political parties? There�s always a right, middle, and left. Maybe we have a similar scale for destinies.

If someone has a right destiny, then upon visiting the SoRD, he or she would then have a left destiny. Maybe I had a very middle-of-the-road destiny and it�s reversal was itself.

Note: I�m not being serious. Sometimes it�s enjoyable to take highly trivial subjects seriously. Religious folks do it all the time.

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